Wow. I’m so relieved. I was prepared for trainwreckery of massive proportions and instead we got a night full of dance, dance and more dance. I’ll be honest – I would be really sad if DWTS devolved into constant crap, fluff and filler to the point that it’s no longer about dancing. And that could still happen, but last night showed that there is still hope. I did look at the clock when there was 50 minutes left in the show and said, “What the hell are they running short or is there going to be some crap stuck in here somewhere?” But sometimes they do seem to know what they’re doing.

What there seems to be NO hope for is Carrie Ann Inaba. In what universe do you give the same paddling to Jennifer, Brandy, Rick and Kyle?? What the hell. I got that the judges, overall, were being exceedingly kind last night – hopefully not to the detriment of one of our remaining good dancers. Everyone seemed to take a shot of the happy juice – even Len admittedly overlooking an error on Brandy’s part that would have gotten anyone else slammed a week ago gave her a 10. And Jennifer got a 9 from him for no obvious mistakes. But really, Carrie Ann? What has happened to the universe when I’m loving Maks and slamming her??

For that matter, in what universe does a girl who’s arms are static and stiff, and who messes up steps, get 8’s? But like I said, the judges were being exceedingly kind. And maybe that was a bit of reverse psychology.

At the end of the night we have the right two people at the top, and the right two people at the bottom. Unfortunately, the judges kindness resulted in a spread that just ain’t big enough for anyone to be truly safe. Here’s how it stacks up:

The Judges Scores and Percentages

Place

Celebrity

Score

Percentage

1.

Brandy

64

17.49

2.

Jennifer

64

17.49

3.

Rick

61

16.67

4.

Kurt

61

16.67

5.

Kyle

59

16.12

6.

Bristol

57

15.57

Less than 2 percentage points between Bristol and Jennifer and Brandy. That’s not very much. Last week, there was a 5 point spread between Kurt and Audrina and we know what happened there. It’s at this point that I should comment on what some have been saying: that Kurt and Bristol have massive voting fanbases because they beat out Audrina. That’s not necessarily true, although it could be. If no one is voting for Audrina, it doesn’t take a huge fanbase to beat her. When, at the end of the night, you can’t remember what she did, then odds are good that she’s not getting many votes because everyone is talking about someone else. Like I mentioned in the comments, if Audrina only got 50k votes out of a million, then Kurt only needed 100k votes out of that million to beat her – that’s only 10 percent of the vote. As the weeks go by, what looks like a massive voting fanbase doesn’t look so any more because all of the remaining couples are getting a good chunk of votes. And that’s where I’m afraid we are right now.

I’m afraid that Kyle may be the Audrina of this week. Can anyone remember his dance clearly right this minute?? I can’t. Bristol’s was much worse, but I remember her helicopter imitation quite clearly – and thinking that perhaps she was supposed to be going for that swinging arm motion that Derek often puts in his Viennese Waltzes. I think people will sympathize with Jen and vote for her (especially since the majority of the viewing audience is Jennifer’s peers), I think people will vote for Brandy because she was hot last night, Kurt’s still a football player, Rick is still hot (although his dance was crap) and Bristol is…still Bristol. Although maybe her voting fanbase was working on GOTV for today’s elections. We can hope.

The person who SHOULD go home is Bristol, IMO, without a doubt. But I’m not convinced that will be the case. What does Bristol need in order to stay? One of the following things has to happen:

-Bristol gets 5,500 more votes per 1 million votes cast than Kyle, or;
-She gets 11,000 more votes per 1 million votes cast than Kurt OR Rick, or;
-She gets 19,200 more votes per 1 million votes cast than Jennifer or Brandy.

I think she can likely beat Kyle pretty handily. I could be wrong. But of course, her getting more votes than Kyle doesn’t mean Kyle automatically goes home. Kyle could do one of the following to stay:

-Kyle gets 5,500 more votes than EITHER Kurt or Rick per 1 million votes cast, or;
-He gets 13,700 more votes than either Jennifer or Brandy per 1 million votes cast.

So, what do you think? Can Bristol get the votes to beat Kyle? And if she does, can Kyle take that beating and still get the votes to beat Kurt or Rick? Essentially, for either Kurt or Rick to leave, it means that:

-Bristol got 11,000 more votes per 1 million votes cast than BOTH of them, AND;
-Kyle got 5,500 more votes per 1 million votes cast than BOTH of them.

Call me crazy, but I don’t see that happening. I could be VERY wrong, of course. I think it comes down to Kyle and Bristol, but just for the sake of argument, let’s look and see what it would take for either Jennifer OR Brandy to be eliminated. For either Jennifer OR Brandy to be eliminated, all of the following has to happen:

-One of the ladies has to get 1 more vote than the other, and;
-Rick and Kurt have to EACH get 8,200 more votes per 1 million votes cast, and;
-Kyle would have to get 13,700 more votes per 1 million votes cast, AND;
-Bristol would have to get 19,200 more votes per 1 million votes cast.

I think that it is relatively safe to call Brandy and Jennifer safe this week. Relatively. Yeah, Audrina was farther ahead, but Brandy and Jennifer aren’t Audrina. I think they have good voting contingents, and I don’t think any group made any assumptions this week.

What about the remaining four? Well, the numbers required to stay aren’t very big, but you also have fewer contestants taking the votes and who knows where the votes that went to ousted contestants are going to go. I don’t think they are likely to go to Kyle or Bristol. I think there is likely some resentment toward these less talented dancers still being in the game. But more than that I have to go back to what I said in the very beginning of this post – what did Kyle do last night?? I have the same feeling with him that I did with Audrina – granted I felt that for a couple weeks before she left, but we don’t have the same time now that we did then.

For that reason, I’m going to say that Kyle is going home. So…tell me why I’m wrong. I almost always am, but tell me why.

I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)

91 responses to "DWTS Season 11, Week 7 – Dancing by the Numbers"

You could be right about Kyle – the more I try to recall that paso, the more I think it was more about Lacey than it was about him. But call me crazy, I’m putting my faith in humanity that Bristol will topple tonight…

…any guesses on who will get the encore? I have a gut feeling it will be Rick, since they seemed to gush about how great that quickstep was, and they seem to be trying to spread the encore love around.

I think the encore will be Team Apolo. I’m pretty sure the winning team has always gotten the encore, but you’re right about the judges gushing over Rick this week.

When I was trying to think back about the dances from last night, I couldn’t really remember Kyle’s either. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t great. I don’t even remember watching that much of Kyle. All I could see was Lacey’s huge skirt and hair.

What dance are you and Brandy working on for next week?
We’re doing the waltz as our main dance and then there’s this new crazy thing where they’re going to give us the dance after the show tonight but they won’t give us the music. So we’re going to have to prepare a dance without the music and get the music next Monday [during the show] and…we’ll have 20 minutes to prepare our dance.

It seems like the producers are trying to make it really hard on everyone.
I’m not really sure if I think it’ll make for great TV. I just think it’s absolutely unnecessary pressure on celebrities that are already under pressure. But I’m not the producer. It’s not my show. What the production doesn’t realize is that it doesn’t make it any easier or harder on the celebrities. It makes it harder for the professionals. It’s really unfair to us because we are doing way too much.

——–

Btw, I agree with him, BUT he got tne minimum prejudice on next week. Why?

-he is a male pro. The man leads the dance. So, it’s just a case of brandy follow his leading. It will be away harder to kurt, kyle or rick lead their pro partner. Cheryl, Anna and Lacey use to lead them – even if they fake it and we barely we can see.

– He already danced waltz.

But I believe that there’s too much changes on this season – f.e. themed weeks – that i don’t like and i think this “instant choreography” is going to be another one.

I think there’s a chance that Rick go home tonight. I personally do not remember well his dancing, the only thing I can remember was that he danced the Quickstep from Helio and Julianne, and that this was a mess. The only thing I thought when I saw them dancing was “what the hell they did with the dance of Helio and Julianne?”. And to be honest I’m tired of the lack of improvement of Rick, it seems he has nowhere else to go. To me he is on the same stage where Audrina was and I think he should start worrying. He may have a good fan base, but if they think he is not in danger, they can vote less and it can easily be defeated, even more this week when everybody is very close scores.

I also think that Bristol should go home, but only because she is not the best dancer. But if we think in terms of improvement, it is a little ahead of Rick, because he seems stuck in what he was in first or second week.

I honestly do not want Kyle to go away tonight. I think he deserves to reach the finals, especially if we take into account the remaining contestants in the competition at that point. I do not see Rick in the finals, and I do not want to see him there. I do not know if Kurt or Bristol can reach the final. At this point I think the final will be Jennifer, Kyle and Brandy (and perhaps even in that order – 1st, 2nd and 3rd place). But that’s just my opinion. I may be completely wrong and probably am, (although last week I hit that Audrina would be eliminated.)

And last but not least, I believe that the encore will stay with the Apollo team, so if it remains what it always was the program with the winning team doing the encore dance. But I think the encore could also be with Jennifer and Derek.

TPTB usually mess with the latin dances about now (decades, solos) but not the ballroom. Maybe Maks means that they have waltz and then an “instant choreography” latin dance? I can’t imagine how hard it will be for a non-pro to learn choreography without music and then maybe having to change it just before performing. For that matter, tough on the pros too as Maks mentioned. Talk about trainwrecks – this could be epic.

Kyle can be tiring (and so can Lacey) but essentially he is just a goofy kid and people tend to not take him so seriously even when he’s over the top “I’m so cool and funny”. And once in awhile he is really funny. That could take him far if he is not eliminated tonight. Plus, he is still improving dance-wise.

I think this whole instant choreography thing will be a mess. I mean whats the point?!? Like what if you choreographed a slower dance and then your music is faster?? I think Brandy and Jennifer could adapt easier but people like Kurt, Rick and ESPECIALLY Bristol (if she makes it) will have a hard time

It could certainly be a mess but it could also be a fun mess. I don’t know the details but I find the “adjusted dancing” idea interesting in theory because dancing shouldn’t just be about routines, it should also be about hearing a song and going for it. I dunno if it’s show material but it could be very telling about star’s real abilities.

Marcela, yep… Rick has a chance to go… I’m not sure who’s leaving tonight. But nobody (aka tom or brooke) twitted that tonight were gonna see a “chocking” elimination…

Greg, I have to disagree. To women it’s just a matter of take the lead.

but the guys need to lead, you know… for a pro is easy to fit the music to a choreography. They can improvise. Kurt, Kyle and Rick… =/ I don’t think so. Cheryl, Anna and Lacey will need to lead them. and it’s very weird (to me) a girl leading a man on dance.

(btw, we can clearly see that chelsie leads her partners. Check ty’s salsa for example…)

I’m so sick of all this theme thing!!!!!!!
Like Len says “if it’s not broken don’t fix it”. The producers are so worried about the entertainment, but they forget that the show is called DANCING with the Stars!!
I want to see some spectacular dances in the finals and I don’t think this is gonna happen if the judges keep scoring the couples high when they don’t deserve it.

I would think it would be impossible to design a dance without music…some of the choreography (sp?) is developed around certain beats of the music (pauses in the music and other notes). I don’t think I explained that very well; hope you got my meaning. I don’t blame Maks for being upset esp this far into the round. Isn’t next week the quarter finals. Now is not the time to be messing around.

How does the instant choreography showcase the stars? This show is about the stars learning how to dance, improving week to week, etc…how in the world does not having the music until just before the dance show anything about the ability of the celebrities? Maks is right – the judging is going to be all on the performance of the pros and that is crappy. I think it will backfire too. Let them dance! Let them dance and get rid of all these stupid distractions!

I just figured it out. Someone from project runway or top chef or some other show like that was hired by DWTS and now they are coming up with all these inane challenges just like those shows. If that is true, powers that be on DWTS, you must fire them!! They suck! Look where project runway and top chef are in the nielsens!

I think that Bristol should be going home tonight. That being said, I’m thinking it will actually be Rick. Granted, my opinion and $7 will get you a latte at some trendy coffee house, but I don’t think NBA players have as big a fan base as, say, football players or Disney stars….

I’m hoping it’s not Rick, but as Princess Heidi said, with all the couples bunched together point-wise, it’s really all on the voting fans tonight.

Maks is right to be upset about the instant Choreo thing and also correct when he says it’s actually much harder on the Pro. All it will tell you is which Pro strategized it correctly. I would bet that Derek, Anna, Cheryl and maybe Maks will figure out a workaround. Mark and Lacey? Not so much. If they know the dance, then they have a pretty good feel for what the tempo would be, but it will be hard to put flourishes in it like Derek and Anna both do. But they will figure out a way to make it work. But all it will show if someone does bad is that the pro didn’t have a good strategy. It won’t say much about the dancer.

I predict, based on phone results from http://www.dialidol.com, that Kurt will go home. If, for some reason, the results are inaccurate, I believe that Kyle will go home. Bristol will not go home due to the huge fan base of Sarah Palin. Plus, DWTS needs Bristol for the ratings this year. She may not be a really good dancer because she’s more mechanical than performance-oriented; however, the Tea Party Conservatives are tuning in to see her new dance each week. That accounts for a huge portion of the audience. Plus, she’s different and is not coming from a performance background. We’re accustomed to near-nudity and constant booty-shaking, not a shy young girl saying “I’m embarrassed”. That counts for something.

Kyle is very entertaining and brings the performance aspect to DWTS. All the females think Rick Fox is “hot”, so that will keep him on a few more weeks. The more mature groups and the “Dirty Dancing” crowd want Jennifer to win, while they relive the scenes from her incredible dance scenes with Patrick Swayze. Either Brandy or Jennifer will ultimately win the contest. However, the other four are “up in the air” right now, but Bristol won’t be going home tonight unless Dial Idol has made a very inaccurate prediction.

I hope you are wrong Heidi, I’d rather see Bristol go as Kyle is obviously enjoying every moment of this competition and is really getting better. I could tell he picked up a few moves from Mark in his Cha, Cha! IMO, he was the best in his team Cha, Cha. He has great performance ability and his technique is also getting better.

Dial Idol is often wrong because it only counts phone votes. You’ll also note they often don’t predict who’s safe – they call everyone a possible eliminee half the time – which shows that they know there is a lot of error built into their system.

Carlos, the numbers posts aren’t about who I like, it’s about the numbers. Based on the numbers, Kyle has a better CHANCE of leaving tonight than Kurt does. Of course, anything can and does happen, but by the numbers it’s more likely to be Kyle.

Dialidol.com isn’t a site to rely on when determining who is going home. That website only measures the busy tones on the phone, not the online or votes by texting. It might help give us a little idea but it doesn’t really help us determine who will go home so I wouldn’t pay so much attention to that website…. although it was correct last week when it determined that Audrina may go home but that isn’t always the case.

Lacey has many fans and followers on twitter and Kyle is really outgoing like Lacey. Disney is also a sponsor for the show so a lot of Disney fans tune in to watch. I think he’ll be safe.

Bristol…. she does have a lot of people voting for her and with Election day today, I wouldn’t be surprised if she is safe again. Besides, she has improved since week 1 so I don’t think people will jump to sending her home just yet.

While in the past, football players have done well, the last few seasons they haven’t been making the finals since Warren Sapp made second place in season 7. So maybe less football fans are watching the show. Therefore, I wouldn’t be so solid sure that Kurt is safe tonight.

I’m confidence Brandy and Rick will stay. Nothing else to say.

Jennifer is a great dancer and reminds many people of Patrick Swayze so I think she could make it in the finals… that is if she doesn’t keep turning people off with her crying. There are people older than her who haven’t been complaining about how hard this is so crying through the competition may not impress people pretty soon. So for Jennifer, it could go either way as far as making it in the finals. And if she does make it in the finals, you can bet she will win. Derek choreographs the best freestyles and the best freestyles always win the competition.

We are being swallowed by Brazilians! Run for your lives. lol
Adjusting the learned dance to the music would put musicality on major test. I dunno, it’s all more or less speculation so far, we’ll see how it will come out.

Agreed, but Bristol wants to go home because she is home sick and she is a single mom to a toddler and is tired, not because her bod is falling apart. I think hers is more mental fatigue and Jennifer’s is more physical fatigue. Hope Jennifer can hang in, and I hope Bristol gets her wish! (sincerely, I’m not being sarcastic!)

No, sasa, I meant that Derek seems to get more crap than anyone else (all his partners are ringers, etc) because of it. Neither Mark nor Cheryl get the crap that Derek does and I think that’s because people seem to think that Derek is the golden child whereas Mark and Cheryl aren’t. I, of course, don’t agree. I think he’s just GOOD and Cheryl’s had Tom Delay, so she’s seen as having “paid dues”.

Heidi, I think that the Derek/Cheryl/Mark overall statistics are material for writing a piece on. Just be sure to mention that as far as winners go, only Alec was representative of non-American borns, if I’m not mistaken. And they do make a high percentage of the dancers. I’m just saying I noticed it and find it interesting. I also have some theories as to why is it so, but now is not the time to (over) share.

Well, I missed it by 50% – Bristol stayed, but it was Rick who went home. I was a little sad about that – I thought he might have more potential than Kurt. I missed the first hour – I thought it was coming on at 9 pm EST, but I guess the election coverage caused the change. Was Bristol really crying, saying that she wanted to go home? She may get her wish next week. She’s obviously a lot more like her father than she is her mother. Poor Jennifer and her crying – she must be going through menopause. I’m serious – I know she’s had a lot of injuries, but it seems as though she breaks down every week……and then there is Bristol wanting to go home. Do these folks not have a clue about what will be involved in a contest like this? I find that just unbelievable. It reminds me of someone who wants to be a politician and then gets upset when the mud-slinging begins.

Re: Derek – I don’t think Shannon was anything to write home about. I think Derek is such a good choreographer that he can work around the celebs’ weaknesses better than most. I bet Bristol would be twice as good with Derek! I also think that a lot of the celebs ask for him, so what are they going to do? Say no and then they won’t come on the show? That’s not Derek’s fault!

This strange dance for next week could mess up everyone, including Jennifer and Brandy. I can’t imagine practicing a dance to a certain piece of music, and then have it switched to a different beat at the last minute. This could really throw Jennifer for a loop. With Bristol, as long as she is connected to Mark and not dancing by herself, she might get through it. Kyle will probably just improvise and then laugh about it.

Sasa, I have no clue what you’re talking about. Sorry. Seriously am not following.

We do actually have discussions about the pros – can’t remember if they’ve been posted or not. Derek is in the lead in terms of statistics, I do know that. Cheryl is up there too. But what the stats don’t take into account is when celebs ask for a pro. Nicole asked for Derek, for example, and I would bet that Jennifer did too. But Derek has taken celebs that were supposed to be early eliminations (Joanna, Lil Kim, Brooke, Shannon) and taken them quite a long way indeed.

As for the insta Dance thing – it depends on the dance. Jennifer and Brandy are in a good position to do well and I think Derek and Maks are smart enough to coach for various possibilities. Both women are musical. Don’t know about the rest. I’ll have to think on it.

Ok, this is the second consecutive week I hit who will be eliminated, I think I’ll start making more predictions … just kidding! LOL

But seriously folks, do not get me wrong, it’s not that I think deserves to continue to Bristol, but as I said Rick did not show any improvement since the second week, he was always in the middle and seemed comfortable with that, unlike Bristol Kurt and that each week presents an improvement. But I would not want to see them in the finals and I do not think they will get there, but who knows?? This program goes a little crazy this season.
I have said and will repeat, for me the final will be between Jennifer, Kyle and Brandy, this is what I would like to see and what I think is fair.

mmc, you’re right thanks. Heidi, I just thought it would be fun to discuss what is it that makes certain pros winners and others not. I know it’s a much discussed subject already but it’s also one that keeps on giving. Plus, I’m a bit ticked that European-born pros are fairing so poorly. But that’s just my local patriotism, don’t mind me.
Does that explain it?

Even though Ricks dance was not great, he should not have went home. I still do not know HOW Bristol is still there. We are down to 5 now. She has to go next week. She has been the worst dancer let for 3 weeks now. Her fans must really be voting her back. The judges need to wake up and stop trippin and score her right!! Notice the person with the 2nd highest score went home 2 weeks in a row.

I am excited to see 2 dances. I am nervous about this instant choreography thing.

By the way, I like sasa’s idea for a post on pro stats, especially the winning pros. I’m a numbers geek and have been curious enough to look at some of this stuff too.

Re: Derek, I’ve noticed that he has always finished 6th or better (top half) – so, he’s visible for quite awhile every season which probably irks some people. Neither Cheryl or Mark have done as well. And although Shannon wasn’t great, Derek has never had a true stinker (a la Wayne Newton or Kim Kardashian). I personally have nothing against Derek. These are just observations on numbers.

Re: non-American pros, of the pros on for >2 seasons, half are American. Also, non-American pros seem to be clustered in the middle of the scale success-wise. The Americans generally seem to be toward the top or the bottom (Ashly, Jonathan). Would love to hear your theories at some point, sasa. Sounds interesting.

mmc – like I told sasa, it’s been done. To a degree. We can go farther, if you read what’s been done and give suggestions.

As for Derek not having a true stinker – that’s a combination of luck and just being good. I think they’ve tried to give him stinkers and they end up not being that. Joanna was pretty soundly reviled by DWTS fans after her showing on Superstars. Lil Kim was fresh out of prison. Brooke was a model and they usually don’t do well, particularly against football players. Hind sight is 20-20, but the claims he’s never been given a stinker kind of make me laugh because it seems like they’ve TRIED. Every season up to Nicole the message boards were like “OH FINALLY Derek has been given someone that will send him home early. Finally it’s fair.” Then, when it doesn’t happen that way they all change their tune to “He always gets good parters.” It’s actually pretty ridiculous.

Yeah, Buttercup, I think the pros will teach a routine and then practice it at different speeds for tempo. That would be the smart thing.

What I found interesting (and what I guessed) was that during the futuristic Paso by Derek and Joanna, Derek mimicked Joanna when she got off time. That is exactly what is likely to happen again. Drill the routine into their head and then watch them like a hawk when they’re out of hold.

Not surprised at all that Rick went home. I figured it was him or Kyle, but I had hoped it would be Bristol. I’m glad it was Rick over Kyle though, that’s for sure. I do not enjoy watching Rick dance at all, but as much of it is about his height, just as much of it is because of his facial expressions. Plus I do NOT find him attractive (although I guess I see why people do). Right now I’m hoping for a Jennifer, Brandy & Kyle finale, although if Kurt edges in there I think at least it’ll be entertaining.

Was I the only one that LOVED the all pro dance!!! It was so cool ” Great to see Ashly, Damian, ANNA D, and others back! Really hope they bring Anna D back soon! I recognized all of them except one and i think that was Elena Greninko. Was it? I also saw Alec wasnt there. Guess he called it quits when Edyta did?

You know what I actually like?? I like the little package they show before they reveal who is safe and in jeopardy. I like seeing all the backstage stuff and the last minute preps. I also like that when they show that part, that we hear what the duos say before, during and right after the dances.

Heidi, I’m sending you a virtual drink over the internet. Enjoy! You earned it with all of the stuff that happens here. I don’t know how you do it.

So Rick is gone. Yeah, never liked him. But, I would have sent Kyle or Bristol over Rick. In fact, with my list, I wanted Rick gone by the final 5 not final 6. People, I called it from early on. So, I’m letting you know now: Do not be surprised if Bristol makes it to the semi finals or even the finals. Three words. Remember Marie Osmond.

@Zach The unknown pro is Inna Brayer. She danced with Ted McGinley on Season 7. I personally thought she was a great teacher and did a great job with him, but he didn’t have much of a fanbase compared to the others on that season.

I’m not an expert on the subject so feel free to correct if I’m wrong. Dancing has a very strong history in some European countries (former Soviet Union, Poland, former Czechoslovakia…). It’s similar in ice dancing if someone is following that sport. Coaches from these countries are always on demand (when they’re not crazy). What these dancers are taught is to follow the set rules of the dance and in executing the steps to try to incorporate as much of expression as possible. American (or English-speaking, for the sake of the argument) dancers are very good technicians. They are taught to execute fast and precise so there is less room for emotional expression. Out of our successful pros I would say Derek, Mark and Julianne are the best representatives of that stream. Chelsie seems to be somewhere in between and Cheryl tends to dance more like the Europeans. At least that’s what it looks like to me. Then we come to the freestyle round where Europeans mostly famously fail. If I want to make excuses for them (and I do) I would say that they are taught to be creative inside the bounds of dance rules, so when there are no rules they are just left clueless as to what to do with the creativity. And that makes them not win. Plus, hip hop and country themes which have been popular in freestyles are just a no-no for Europeans. Of course it is a bit harder for them in general because common sense says it would be easier for an American to win over American audiences, but that should not be a major factor. These are all just theories so please don’t take them too seriously.

Sorry I’m spamming, just one more thing. In Bristol&Mark’s backstage interview something goes on with Jen&Derek in the background with Mark reacting facially to it. I’m now so curious what was going on. It’s here at about 1 minute mark.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE3XwVnltN8

Hey all, I’m a finalist for the design a dance concept contest!! I’d REALLY appreciate any and all votes (you can vote five times per email today and tomorrow)!! I’ve always been a huge fan of this site and if I win and get on the show maybe I can bring back some juicy backstage info. THANK YOU!!!!!! http://abc.go.com/shows/dancing-with-the-stars/design-a-dance (CONCEPT #1)

I don’t like Derek because he’s annoying and a camera hog. He always has to be making faces or interrupting his partner. He’s an amazing choreographer and teacher, and I love watching his dances. I just wish he wasn’t so annoying. It’s double irritating this season since Jennifer is just as camera hungry and extremely whiny.

You’re welcome Zach. I enjoy doing it. Plus I was getting irritated by these “shocking eliminations”. Even though I was surprised by Rick leaving, I shouldn’t have been – there was only a percentage point between him and Bristol. That ain’t nuthin’.

@ Greg I really liked those little “extra” pkgs too… those are by far the extras I like as it gives us a little taste into the realness of the backstage stuff going on…. it’s just nice to see the human-ness of it all before, in the middle and after without a camera being stuck in their faces….

Regarding the instant dances for next week…. isn’t this like the professional competitions during group dances? They don’t know the music either. So in that sense, the pros know how to “juggle” that…that’s why they’re indeed called pros…. but yes I agree with all the criticsm…depending upon how you look at it, seems like this “challenge” is more directed AT the pros who have the responsibility of teaching the dance and not on the celebrities, they don’t have much time at all to figure it out with their pros… pros can nail it no doubt…. that’s how they train and compete… but this isn’t about the pros…. maybe this is the producers way of wanting to weed out the weak links??? pretty late in the game and really how does this jive (no pun intended, ha) with the regular “rules” hours and hours of practice and then wham one with a curve ball… just odd…and how are they going to judge these?? Are they going to be more lenient by saying they didn’t have much time or are they going to be stringent? Seems like the “powers that be” want to test the pros more than the celebrities…. mmmmm wonder if there is more to this story like a test to see who returns next season?? hopefully they haven’t gotten that far away from what this show is about…….